LA Love: The Parson Red Heads

Hello hello!

This is the first of a few reminders to our LA readers that, come Tuesday, April 28th, your feet need to be firmly planted on the floor of the Echoplex. Why is that, you ask? Well, simply put -- it's gonna be one of the coolest local line-ups of the year, and you don't want to miss it. To promote this show, the next 2 installments of LA Love come as a package deal alongside last week's post about Princeton, who will be at the Echoplex on the 28th in support of The Parson Red Heads and Castledoor. It should be an exciting night, as it's the Parsons' 7" release party for Orangufang, and Castledoor's debut album release for Shouting At Mountains. More on Castledoor next week, but for now...

The Parson Red Heads are a 6-piece psych-pop band that I've often and rightfully described as angelic, awesome 60s music...being written in the 00s. It's like Crosby Stills & Nash meets Simon & Garfunkel, with a bit of the Byrds thrown in. They're not LA natives, having come down here from Portland a few years ago, but you'd never know it judging from the way they've been embraced by the locals. They wear all white clothing at their shows (angels, get it?), employ 5-part vocal harmonies, and are prone to long, psychedelic guitar jams. They also have a really enthusiastic tambourine player named Jason, who is fun to watch during the rare times when you're not totally entranced by the guitar work of Evan Way and Sam Fowles. Their recordings don't come close to conveying their super dynamic onstage presence, but that's all the more reason to check out their live set (April 28th!  The Echoplex!). But don't take my word for it -- Check out the 2 songs below and make your own decision...

Out to Sea [mp3]
Don't Hold Back [mp3]
(iTunes)

**Bonus Round: If I've converted you to Parson Red Heads fandom, check out The World Record -- a sort-of side project that features 4 of the Parsons along with singer Aaron Ballard.